Each time I’m feeling cynical about our country’s future, along comes a documentary like Brooklyn Castle.

In the beginning, there was writer-director Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings series, and it was good. There was Middle Earth, a magical world of elves, wizards, hobbits, dwarves and men. Even those who were not fans of the books on which those movies are based find themselves settling in to watch The Return of the King on a Sunday afternoon.

There have been so many addiction and recovery stories in the past decade that it’s entirely reasonable to think we don’t need another. As singer-songwriter Mike Doughty writes in his recent drug-filled memoir The Book of Drugs, the title of Caroline Knapp’s book, Drinking: A Love Story, says it all.

Occasionally, a movie comes out that begs the question, “Really, what was the point of that?” Congratulations to director Joe Wright, star Keira Knightley and writer Tom Stoppard.

One of the pleasures of Rust and Bone is that it just begins. We’re plopped into the story of Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) and his young son. They’re broke and trying to find food.

Life of Pi is a 3D-enhanced movie that avoids 3D trappings. Its use is like Avatar’s: completely immersive. It’s also a successful adaptation of a popular novel—no easy feat—that’s set mostly on a life raft.

One day, someone will have to explain the virtues of the adultery movie. Not because adultery is immoral; why would a filmmaker stack the deck from the beginning against the lead characters? Moviegoers can forgive the Joker for blowing up half of Gotham City.

Silver Linings Playbook seems like a losing proposition. The main characters are Philadelphia sports fans and mentally unbalanced people (no jokes about how those two things seemingly go together), an

It’s official. Movie studios have become so lazy and cynical they’re now remaking even the crap, such as Red Dawn. Remember Red Dawn? It’s the jingoistic, Reagan-era piece of rah-rah shit.

Let’s be honest: When Steven Spielberg makes a historical epic, they’re often bad. And not just, “Oh, he missed by that much” bad, but bad.